Head-up display/synthetic vision system predicted flight path depiction

ABSTRACT

A head-up display system includes an aircraft, a predicted flight path generation component that calculates a predicted flight path over a period of time, and a graphic generation component configured to generate a graphical display and project it onto a combiner configured to combine the graphical display with a visual exterior view. A synthetic vision system includes an aircraft, a predicted flight path generation component that receives one or more state parameters and calculates a predicted flight path over a period of time, and a synthetic terrain generation component configured to generate a synthetic view which is displayed on a display. The graphical display and/or the synthetic view includes a three-dimensional depiction of the predicted flight path over the period of time generated utilizing one or more three-dimensional transforms, one or more graphical images based on flight data, and a three-dimensional graphical depiction of a flight plan.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of guidancesystems, and more particularly to a predicted flight path depiction fora head-up display and/or a synthetic vision system.

BACKGROUND

Situational awareness concerns the knowledge and understanding of anenvironment critical complex decision making in areas such as aviation.Situational awareness involves the perception of elements in theenvironment within a volume of time and space, the comprehension oftheir meaning, and the projection of their status in the near future. Atits core, situation awareness involves being aware of what is happeningto understand how information, events, and actions will impact goals andobjectives, both now and in the near future.

Head-up displays and synthetic vision systems have been developed toimprove situational awareness in aviation. A head-up display (HUD) is atransparent display that presents data without obstructing a user's viewof a scene external to the transparent display. A synthetic visionsystem typically utilizes a set of databases (including, but not limitedto terrain, obstacle, geo-political, and/or hydrological databases) andan image generator to render a synthetic view on a display. Head-updisplays and/or synthetic vision systems may display a Highway In TheSky (or Path-In-The-Sky), or a the intended flight plan of the aircraftgraphically depicted three-dimensionally (typically in perspectiveview). Head-up displays and/or synthetic vision systems may include aflight path vector symbol, or an indicator that graphically depicts thetrajectory of the aircraft at the current point in time.

SUMMARY

A head-up display system for displaying a predicted flight pathdepiction may include an aircraft, a predicted flight path generationcomponent, a graphic generation component, a combiner, and one or moresensors. The graphic generation component may be configured to generatea graphical display which is projected onto the combiner. The combinermay be configured to combine the graphical display with a visualexterior view of a scene external to the aircraft. The one or moresensors may detect information about one or more state parameters of thepresent position of the aircraft. The predicted flight path generationcomponent may receive one or more state parameters and calculate apredicted flight path for the aircraft over a period of time based onthe one or more state parameters and one or more flight dynamicsequations. The graphic generation component may be configured togenerate the graphical display including a three-dimensional depictionof the predicted flight path for the aircraft over the period of timegenerated utilizing one or more three-dimensional transforms. Thehead-up display system may also include a flight data receiverconfigured to receive flight data for the aircraft. The graphicgeneration component may be configured to generate the graphical displayincluding one or more graphical images based on flight data received bythe flight data receiver. The flight data may include a flight plan forthe aircraft. The graphic generation component may be configured togenerate the graphical display including a three-dimensional graphicaldepiction of the flight plan for the aircraft.

A synthetic vision system for displaying a predicted flight pathdepiction may include an aircraft, a predicted flight path generationcomponent, a synthetic terrain generation component, a display, and oneor more sensors. The synthetic terrain generation component may beconfigured to generate a synthetic view which is displayed on thedisplay. The synthetic terrain generation component may be configured togenerate (or render) a synthetic view utilizing data from one or moredatabases including, but not limited to a terrain database, an obstacledatabase, a geo-political database, and/or a hydrological database. Theone or more sensors may detect information about one or more stateparameters of the present position of the aircraft. The predicted flightpath generation component may receive one or more state parameters andcalculate a predicted flight path for the aircraft over a period of timebased on the one or more state parameters and one or more flightdynamics equations. The synthetic terrain generation component may beconfigured to generate the synthetic view including a three-dimensionaldepiction of the predicted flight path for the aircraft over the periodof time generated utilizing one or more three-dimensional transforms.The synthetic vision system may also include a flight data receiverconfigured to receive flight data for the aircraft. The synthetic viewgeneration component may be configured to generate the synthetic viewincluding one or more graphical images based on flight data received bythe flight data receiver. The flight data may include a flight plan forthe aircraft. The synthetic view generation component may be configuredto generate the synthetic view including a three-dimensional graphicaldepiction of the flight plan for the aircraft.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not necessarily restrictive of the present disclosure. Theaccompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a partof the specification, illustrate subject matter of the disclosure.Together, the descriptions and the drawings serve to explain theprinciples of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The numerous advantages of the disclosure may be better understood bythose skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying figures inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a head-up display system for displayinga predicted flight path depiction, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a head-up display that may be utilizedin the system of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 is flow chart illustrating a method for displaying a predictedflight path depiction on a head-up display, in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a synthetic vision system fordisplaying a predicted flight path depiction, in accordance with analternative embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a synthetic vision display that may beutilized in the system of FIG. 4, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present disclosure; and

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for displaying apredicted flight path depiction on a synthetic vision system, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the subject matter disclosed,which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

On a head-up display and/or a synthetic vision system, a flight pathvector symbol graphically depicts the trajectory of the aircraft at thecurrent point in time. The flight path vector symbol does not depict thetrajectory of the aircraft at any point in time other than the currenttime. It may be useful to provide an indicator on a head-up displayand/or a synthetic vision system which depicts the trajectory of theaircraft over a period of time including, but not limited to, tenseconds from the current time, thirty seconds from the current time,and/or one minute from the current time. In this way, a user of thehead-up display and/or synthetic vision system is able to discover whatthe trajectory of the aircraft may be over the period of time ratherthan merely discover the trajectory of the aircraft at the current time.

FIG. 1 illustrates a head-up display system 100 for displaying apredicted flight path depiction, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. The head-up display system 100 may include anaircraft 101, a predicted flight path generation component 102, agraphic generation component 103, a combiner 104, and one or moresensors 105. The graphic generation component 103 may be configured togenerate a graphical display which is projected onto the combiner 104.The graphic generation component 103 may comprise a computing deviceincluding a processor for generating the graphical display. Thegraphical display may be projected onto the combiner 104 utilizing anyprojection technology including, but not limited to, a cathode-ray tubedisplay and/or a liquid crystal display. The combiner 104 may beconfigured to combine the graphical display with a visual exterior viewof a scene external to the aircraft 101 (for example, through a cockpitwindow of the aircraft 101). The combiner 104 may be configured tocombine the graphical display with a visual exterior view of a sceneexternal to the aircraft 101 by being configured to reflect a wavelengthof light of the graphical display but passing other wavelengths. Thegraphical display may be projected at infinity such that a user does nothave to refocus between the graphical display projected onto thecombiner 104 and the visual exterior view of the scene external to theaircraft 101.

The one or more sensors 105 may detect information about one or morestate parameters of the present position of the aircraft 101. The one ormore state parameters may include, but are not limited to, stateparameters such as the airspeed of the aircraft 101, the rate of changeof the airspeed of the aircraft 101, the acceleration of the airspeed ofthe aircraft 101, the pitch of the aircraft 101, the rate of change ofthe pitch of the aircraft 101, the acceleration of the pitch of theaircraft 101, the roll of the aircraft 101, the rate of change of theroll of the aircraft 101, the acceleration of the roll of the aircraft101, the yaw of the aircraft 101, the rate of change of the yaw of theaircraft 101, the acceleration of the yaw of the aircraft 101, theheading of the aircraft 101, the rate of change of the heading of theaircraft 101, the acceleration of the heading of the aircraft 101, theangle of attack of the aircraft 101, the rate of change of the angle ofattack of the aircraft 101, the acceleration of the angle of attack ofthe aircraft 101, the slip of the aircraft 101, the rate of change ofthe slip of the aircraft 101, and/or the acceleration of the slip of theaircraft 101. The predicted flight path generation component 102 mayreceive one or more state parameters and calculate a predicted flightpath for the aircraft 101 over a period of time (including, but notlimited to, five seconds from a current time, twenty-five seconds fromthe current time, and/or two minutes from the current time) based on theone or more state parameters and one or more flight dynamics equations(including, but not limited to, longitudinal equations of motion, smallperturbation equations of motion, yaw plane translation equations,lateral equations product of inertia, lateral stability equations,and/or roll rate equations). The predicted flight path generationcomponent 102 may comprise a computing device including a processor forcalculating the predicted flight path for the aircraft 101 over theperiod of time. The graphic generation component 103 may be configuredto generate the graphical display including a three-dimensionaldepiction of the predicted flight path for the aircraft 101 over theperiod of time. To generate the graphical display including athree-dimensional depiction of the predicted flight path for theaircraft 101 over the period of time, the graphic generation component103 may receive the predicted flight path from the predicted flight pathgeneration component 102 and utilize one or more three-dimensionaltransforms (including, but not limited to a Fourier transform, anorthographic projection transform, a perspective projection transform, arotation transformation, a scaling transformation, a reflectiontransformation, and/or a orthogonal projection transformation) togenerate a three-dimensional depiction of the predicted flight path.

For example, the instantaneous velocities of the aircraft 101 in theaircraft centric orthogonal axes (X along the velocity vector, Y out theright wing, and Z out the underside of the aircraft) may be utilized toderive an instantaneous velocity for the aircraft 101 in the threedimensions. Then, the aircraft 101 position for future points in timemay be predictively computed utilizing the instantaneous velocity forthe aircraft 101 in the three dimensions. The future position tenseconds from the present time may be computed, as well as the futureposition ten seconds from that and so on for the duration of the periodof time of the predicted flight path. The predicted velocities (1^(st)order derivatives) may be computed utilizing 2^(nd) order derivatives(accelerations) of the aircraft 101 state (including, but not limitedto, X, Y, Z, pitch, roll, and/or yaw) at each of the future time pointsand may be utilized to refine predicted position at these time points.Once the X, Y, and Z coordinates of each of the positions have beenpredicted, the coordinates may be projected to an earth centeredcoordinate system utilizing geodetic datum (such as WGS84) and thence toa graphics coordinate system in order to generate the three-dimensionaldepiction of the predicted flight path to project onto the combiner 104.

The head-up display system 100 may also include a flight data receiver106 configured to receive flight data for the aircraft 101. The flightdata may include, but is not limited to, an airspeed of the aircraft101, a heading of the aircraft 101, a yaw of the aircraft 101, a roll ofthe aircraft 101, a slip of the aircraft 101, an engine temperature ofthe aircraft 101, a fuel level of the aircraft 101, and/or other datarelated to the flight of the aircraft 101. The graphic generationcomponent 103 may be configured to generate the graphical displayincluding one or more graphical images based on flight data received bythe flight data receiver 101. The flight data may include a flight planfor the aircraft 101. The graphic generation component 103 may beconfigured to generate the graphical display including athree-dimensional graphical depiction of the flight plan for theaircraft 101 (such as a Highway In The Sky or a Path-In-The-Sky).

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a head-up display 200 that may beutilized in the head-up display system 100, in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure. The head-up display 200 mayinclude a graphical display (203-208) combined with a visual exteriorview of a scene 209 external to the aircraft 101. In this example, thevisual exterior view of a scene 209 external to the aircraft 101comprises a view visible through a window 201 of the aircraft 101 and/ora combiner 202. The combiner 202 may combine the graphical display(203-208) projected onto the combiner 202 with the visual exterior viewof a scene 209 external to the aircraft 101. The graphical display(203-208) may include one or more graphical images based on flight dataof the aircraft 101 including, but not limited to, flight path vector203, horizon indicator 206, boresight indicator 207, a slip/skidindicator (indicated by the horizontal relationship between flight pathvector indicator 203 and horizon indicator 206), an accelerationindicator (not shown), and/or heading indicator 208. The graphicaldisplay (203-208) may also include a three-dimensional graphicaldepiction of the flight plan for the aircraft 101 (such as a Highway InThe Sky or a Path-In-The-Sky) represented by flight plan indicator 204.The graphical display (203-208) may also include a three-dimensionaldepiction of the predicted flight path for the aircraft 101 over theperiod of time represented by predicted flight path indicator 205. Ascan be seen from FIG. 2, the current trajectory of the aircraft 101indicated by the flight path vector indicator 203 is in keeping with theflight plan indicated by the flight plan indicator 204. However, thetrajectory of the aircraft 101 over the period of time indicated by thepredicted flight path indicator 205, calculated based on the stateparameters of the aircraft 101, deviates from the flight plan indicatedby the flight plan indicator 204. A user of the aircraft 101 may be ableto take corrective action based on a comparison of the flight planindicator 204 and the predicted flight path indicator 205 so that theaircraft 101 will remain on the planned flight path.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method 300 for displaying a predicted flight pathdepiction on a head-up display, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. In step 301, detect at least one state parameter ofa present position of an aircraft. Detecting at least one stateparameter of a present position of an aircraft may include detecting atleast one of an airspeed of the aircraft, a rate of change of theairspeed of the aircraft, an acceleration of the airspeed of theaircraft, a pitch of the aircraft, a rate of change of the pitch of theaircraft, an acceleration of the pitch of the aircraft, a roll of theaircraft, a rate of change of the roll of the aircraft, an accelerationof the roll of the aircraft, a yaw of the aircraft, a rate of change ofthe yaw of the aircraft, an acceleration of the yaw of the aircraft, aheading of the aircraft, a rate of change of the heading of theaircraft, an acceleration of the heading of the aircraft, an angle ofattack of the aircraft, a rate of change of the angle of attack of theaircraft, an acceleration of the angle of attack of the aircraft, a slipof the aircraft, a rate of change of the slip of the aircraft, and/or anacceleration of the slip of the aircraft. In step 302, calculate apredicted flight path for the aircraft over a period of time based onthe at least one state parameter. In step 303, generate a graphicaldisplay, the graphical display including a three-dimensional graphicalrepresentation of the predicted flight path. Generating a graphicaldisplay may include generating a graphical display including at leastone graphical image based on flight data received for the aircraft.Generating a graphical display may include generating a graphicaldisplay including the three-dimensional graphical representation of thepredicted flight path by performing at least one three-dimensionalgraphic transform on the predicted flight path. Generating a graphicaldisplay may include generating a graphical display including athree-dimensional representation of a flight plan of the aircraft. Instep 304, combine the graphical display with a visual exterior view of ascene external to the aircraft on a combiner of a head-up display.

FIG. 4 illustrates a synthetic vision system 400 for displaying apredicted flight path depiction, in accordance with an alternativeembodiment of the present disclosure. The synthetic vision system 400may include an aircraft 401, a predicted flight path generationcomponent 402, a synthetic terrain generation component 403, a display404, and one or more sensors 405. The synthetic terrain generationcomponent 403 may be configured to generate a synthetic view which isdisplayed on the display 404. The synthetic terrain generation component403 may comprise a computing device including a processor for generatingthe synthetic view. The synthetic terrain generation component 403 maybe configured to generate (or render) a synthetic view utilizing datafrom one or more databases including, but not limited to a terraindatabase, an obstacle database, a geo-political database, and/or ahydrological database. The display 404 may comprise any displaytechnology including, but not limited to, a cathode-ray tube displayand/or a liquid crystal display.

The one or more sensors 405 may detect information about one or morestate parameters of the present position of the aircraft 401. The one ormore state parameters may include, but are not limited to, stateparameters such as the airspeed of the aircraft 401, the rate of changeof the airspeed of the aircraft 401, the acceleration of the airspeed ofthe aircraft 401, the pitch of the aircraft 401, the rate of change ofthe pitch of the aircraft 401, the acceleration of the pitch of theaircraft 401, the roll of the aircraft 401, the rate of change of theroll of the aircraft 401, the acceleration of the roll of the aircraft401, the yaw of the aircraft 401, the rate of change of the yaw of theaircraft 401, the acceleration of the yaw of the aircraft 401, theheading of the aircraft 401, the rate of change of the heading of theaircraft 401, the acceleration of the heading of the aircraft 401, theangle of attack of the aircraft 401, the rate of change of the angle ofattack of the aircraft 401, the acceleration of the angle of attack ofthe aircraft 401, the slip of the aircraft 401, the rate of change ofthe slip of the aircraft 401, and/or the acceleration of the slip of theaircraft 401. The predicted flight path generation component 402 mayreceive one or more state parameters and calculate a predicted flightpath for the aircraft 401 over a period of time (including, but notlimited to, five seconds from a current time, twenty-five seconds fromthe current time, and/or two minutes from the current time) based on theone or more state parameters and one or more flight dynamics equations(including, but not limited to, longitudinal equations of motion, smallperturbation equations of motion, yaw plane translation equations,lateral equations product of inertia, lateral stability equations,and/or roll rate equations). The predicted flight path generationcomponent 402 may comprise a computing device including a processor forcalculating the predicted flight path for the aircraft 401 over theperiod of time. The synthetic terrain generation component 403 may beconfigured to generate the synthetic view including a three-dimensionaldepiction of the predicted flight path for the aircraft 401 over theperiod of time. To generate the synthetic view including athree-dimensional depiction of the predicted flight path for theaircraft 401 over the period of time, the graphic generation component403 may receive the predicted flight path from the predicted flight pathgeneration component 402 and utilize one or more three-dimensionaltransforms (including, but not limited to a Fourier transform, anorthographic projection transform, a perspective projection transform, arotation transformation, a scaling transformation, a reflectiontransformation, and/or a orthogonal projection transformation) togenerate a three-dimensional depiction of the predicted flight path.

For example, the instantaneous velocities of the aircraft 401 in theaircraft centric orthogonal axes (X along the velocity vector, Y out theright wing, and Z out the underside of the aircraft) may be utilized toderive an instantaneous velocity for the aircraft 401 in the threedimensions. Then, the aircraft 401 position for future points in timemay be predictively computed utilizing the instantaneous velocity forthe aircraft 401 in the three dimensions. The future position tenseconds from the present time may be computed, as well as the futureposition ten seconds from that and so on for the duration of the periodof time of the predicted flight path. The predicted velocities (1^(st)order derivatives) may be computed utilizing 2^(nd) order derivatives(accelerations) of the aircraft 401 state (including, but not limitedto, X, Y, Z, pitch, roll, and/or yaw) at each of the future time pointsand may be utilized to refine predicted position at these time points.Once the X, Y, and Z coordinates of each of the positions have beenpredicted, the coordinates may be projected to an earth centeredcoordinate system utilizing geodetic datum (such as WGS84) and thence toa graphics coordinate system in order to generate the three-dimensionaldepiction of the predicted flight path to display on the display 404.

The synthetic vision system 400 may also include a flight data receiver406 configured to receive flight data for the aircraft 401. The flightdata may include, but is not limited to, an airspeed of the aircraft401, a heading of the aircraft 401, a yaw of the aircraft 401, a roll ofthe aircraft 401, a slip of the aircraft 401, an engine temperature ofthe aircraft 401, a fuel level of the aircraft 401, and/or other datarelated to the flight of the aircraft 401. The synthetic view generationcomponent 403 may be configured to generate the synthetic view includingone or more graphical images based on flight data received by the flightdata receiver 401. The flight data may include a flight plan for theaircraft 401. The synthetic view generation component 403 may beconfigured to generate the synthetic view including a three-dimensionalgraphical depiction of the flight plan for the aircraft 401 (such as aHighway In The Sky or a Path-In-The-Sky).

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a synthetic view 501 that may beutilized in the synthetic vision system 400, in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure. The synthetic view 501 may includea graphical elements (503-508) combined with a synthetic terrain 509.The graphical elements (503-508) may include one or more graphicalimages based on flight data of the aircraft 401 including, but notlimited to, flight path vector 503, horizon indicator 508, boresightindicator 507, a slip/skid indicator 506, an acceleration indicator(indicated by the relationship between horizon indicator 508 andslip/skid indicator 506), and/or heading indicator 507. The graphicalelements (503-508) may also include a three-dimensional graphicaldepiction of the flight plan for the aircraft 401 (such as a Highway InThe Sky or a Path-In-The-Sky) represented by flight plan indicator 504.The graphical elements (503-508) may also include a three-dimensionaldepiction of the predicted flight path for the aircraft 401 over theperiod of time represented by predicted flight path indicator 505. Ascan be seen from FIG. 5, the current trajectory of the aircraft 401indicated by the flight path vector indicator 503 is in keeping with theflight plan indicated by the flight plan indicator 504. However, thetrajectory of the aircraft 401 over the period of time indicated by thepredicted flight path indicator 505, calculated based on the stateparameters of the aircraft 401, deviates from the flight plan indicatedby the flight plan indicator 504. A user of the aircraft 401 may be ableto take corrective action based on a comparison of the flight planindicator 504 and the predicted flight path indicator 505 so that theaircraft 401 will remain on the planned flight path.

FIG. 6 illustrates a method 600 for displaying a predicted flight pathdepiction on a synthetic vision system, in accordance with an embodimentof the present disclosure. In step 601, detect at least one stateparameter of a present position of an aircraft. Detecting at least onestate parameter of a present position of an aircraft may includedetecting at least one of an airspeed of the aircraft, a rate of changeof the airspeed of the aircraft, an acceleration of the airspeed of theaircraft, a pitch of the aircraft, a rate of change of the pitch of theaircraft, an acceleration of the pitch of the aircraft, a roll of theaircraft, a rate of change of the roll of the aircraft, an accelerationof the roll of the aircraft, a yaw of the aircraft, a rate of change ofthe yaw of the aircraft, an acceleration of the yaw of the aircraft, aheading of the aircraft, a rate of change of the heading of theaircraft, an acceleration of the heading of the aircraft, an angle ofattack of the aircraft, a rate of change of the angle of attack of theaircraft, an acceleration of the angle of attack of the aircraft, a slipof the aircraft, a rate of change of the slip of the aircraft, and/or anacceleration of the slip of the aircraft. In step 602, calculate apredicted flight path for the aircraft over a period of time based onthe at least one state parameter. In step 603, generate a syntheticview, the synthetic view including a three-dimensional graphicalrepresentation of the predicted flight path. Generating a synthetic viewmay include generating a synthetic view including at least one graphicalimage based on flight data received for the aircraft. Generating asynthetic view may include generating a synthetic view including thethree-dimensional graphical representation of the predicted flight pathby performing at least one three-dimensional graphic transform on thepredicted flight path. Generating a synthetic view may includegenerating a synthetic view including a three-dimensional representationof a flight plan of the aircraft. In step 604, display the syntheticview on a synthetic vision system display.

In the present disclosure, the methods disclosed may be implemented assets of instructions or software readable by a device: Further, it isunderstood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methodsdisclosed are examples of exemplary approaches. Based upon designpreferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy ofsteps in the method can be rearranged while remaining within thedisclosed subject matter. The accompanying method claims presentelements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not necessarilymeant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

It is believed that the present disclosure and many of its attendantadvantages will be understood by the foregoing description, and it willbe apparent that various changes may be made in the form, constructionand arrangement of the components without departing from the disclosedsubject matter or without sacrificing all of its material advantages.The form described is merely explanatory, and it is the intention of thefollowing claims to encompass and include such changes.

1. A method, comprising: detecting at least one state parameter of apresent position of an aircraft; calculating a predicted trajectory forthe aircraft over a period of time based on the at least one stateparameter, where the predicted trajectory includes predicted locationsfor the aircraft at a plurality of future times different than a currenttime at which the predicted trajectory is displayed; generating asynthetic view, the synthetic view including a three-dimensionalgraphical representation of the predicted trajectory; and displaying thesynthetic view on a synthetic vision system display, wherein the atleast one state parameter of the present position of the aircraftincludes a second order derivative of the state of the aircraft, andwhere calculating a predicted trajectory for the aircraft over a periodof time based on the at least one state parameter comprises computing apredicted first order derivative of the state of the aircraft based uponthe second order derivative for refining the predicted locations for theaircraft at the plurality of future times.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein said generating a synthetic view comprises: generating asynthetic view including at least one graphical image based on flightdata received for the aircraft.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein saidgenerating a synthetic view comprises: generating a synthetic viewincluding the three-dimensional graphical representation of thepredicted trajectory by performing at least one three-dimensionalgraphic transform on the predicted trajectory.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein said detecting at least one state parameter of a presentposition of an aircraft comprises: detecting at least one of an airspeedof the aircraft, a rate of change of the airspeed of the aircraft, anacceleration of the airspeed of the aircraft, a pitch of the aircraft, arate of change of the pitch of the aircraft, an acceleration of thepitch of the aircraft, a roll of the aircraft, a rate of change of theroll of the aircraft, an acceleration of the roll of the aircraft, a yawof the aircraft, a rate of change of the yaw of the aircraft, anacceleration of the yaw of the aircraft, a heading of the aircraft, arate of change of the heading of the aircraft, an acceleration of theheading of the aircraft, an angle of attack of the aircraft, a rate ofchange of the angle of attack of the aircraft, an acceleration of theangle of attack of the aircraft, a slip of the aircraft, a rate ofchange of the slip of the aircraft, or an acceleration of the slip ofthe aircraft.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein said generating asynthetic view comprises: generating a synthetic view including athree-dimensional representation of a flight plan of the aircraft.